


King of the Keep

by Laitas



Series: It's Just A Game [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Competitive Gaming, M/M, also there's a lot of other ships to come in future parts, gender headcannons, there's a little bit of onesided kagesuga but i promise this is a kagehina, they're still in high school too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 11:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2308541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laitas/pseuds/Laitas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They called him King of the Keep behind his back and made it obvious they didn’t like Kageyama’s playing style very much. But he did what he needed to win, and if that meant his teammates occasional disapproval, he’d take it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, how's it going? So this is a competitive gaming au. Don't worry, I made it really the game play portion pretty general and maybe a little too vague but you'll be able hopefully enjoy it!

Kageyama strolled into the tall concrete building along side his teammates. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he enter the tinted doors.

As they kept walking, Kageyama put in his headphones and played his classical music playlist. Kageyama didn’t like to admit it, but he got a little nervous before big tournaments, and having the music as a distraction always helped.

Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High was directed around the empty stage, just as a preview of what kind of equipment they’d be dealing with. It was all the standard stuff and was mostly just for the first years who had never experienced a real Cloudbough Keep tournament before. The equipment was set up all under a sound resistant box, so that the future crowd would be a minimum distraction.

They finally were escorted to their individual team room where they placed their bags down and began to go over strategies and plays.  
“Wait” Kageyama said, stopping the talk. “I have to go to the bathroom right quick”  
There were a couple of quiet groans and annoyed faces as he left the room but it wasn’t like they weren’t going to put up with it, Kageyama was their best player after all.

They called him King of the Keep behind his back. And made it obvious they didn’t like Kageyama’s playing style very much. But he did what he needed to win, and if that meant his teammates occasional disapproval, he’d take it.

Trying to remember where the bathrooms were from last year, Kageyama finally found it. As he opened the door, a short orange haired kid bumped straight into Kageyama’s chest. The kid instantly jumped backwards and had an absolutely terrified expression on his face.

“S-s-sorry” he stuttered out. The kid was visibly shaking and really pale like he was about to throw up.

“It’s fine” Kageyama said. _He’s probably just a nervous first year_ Kageyama thought.

Once Kageyama went past the door, the orange haired kid ran out looking like he was about to trip over himself. Kageyama kind of felt bad for him.  
When he left the bathroom, Kageyama saw the same kid standing in front of two of his teammates. Kageyama sighed. _Were they really trying to bully him._

“Hey” he interrupted.

All three of them flinched and turned towards Kageyama.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” he yelled.

“Um, well this kid was saying he was actually going to beat us” one of them said looking very on edge.

 _So he’s from that no-name school we’re up against_ he thought. _Yukigaoka or something like that._  
“How are benchers like you going to get stronger if you look down on your opponents” Kageyama scowled. It was really annoying having to deal with shit like this before a match. “Stop riding the coattails of your school”

“W-we’re sorry” they blurted as they ran away.

The kid looked up at Kageyama and tried to made a tough face.

“I-I was just about to say that” he said obviously lying, even if that was his actual intent.

“If you can’t even take care of yourself, you shouldn’t be acting so confident” Kageyama lectured. The kid clenched his teeth in anger. “That’s why they make fun of you” he added.

“What’d you say?” the kid responded, his fists were at his side.

“Why are you here in the first place?” Kageyama asked. It wasn’t like a no-name school could make it very far in the tournament. And with their luck of being against the fan favorite to win the whole thing, they weren’t going to even make it past the first round.

“To make memories or something?”

The kid’s face, full of anger, shifted to confidence. “To win of course”

This made Kagayama want to burst out in laughter. _Win? how ignorant was this kid?_  
“Our team will win and we’ll play lots of matches” he continued.

For some reason, Kageyama just had a need to kill this kid’s confidence.  
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the first match, second or last” Kageyama talked, taking a firm stance. “I’ll be the one standing on the winners side”. When he finished, Kagayama stormed back to his team. Kageyama really hated dealing with this shit.

Moments later, they were lining up to finally start their first match of the tournament.  
Kagayama and his teammates left their meeting room pretty confident in their future win against their opponents. And to be honest, they really didn’t go over that much strategy. It was mostly just the basic formations that they’d been over so many times that it was etched into each of their brains.

They made it out to the crowd of cheering people and the team gave a wave in thanks for their support and excitement. And on the other side of the stage, the no-name team entered with the orange haired kid leading the way. They looked awed and nervous by the crowd. Kagayama was pretty much ignoring them though. He had a game to focus on.

Entering the transparent box, the crowd became muffled and Kageyama was able to concentrate again. The six of them took their seats and got ready for the drafting portion the of the competition. It started with each team choosing six characters that neither was allowed to use during the game. The picks usually consisted of op warriors and possible combinations.

After both teams finished, their bans came up on the screen for each team to see. The no-name team bans weren’t completely terrible.  
 _At least they halfway know what they were doing_ Kagayama thought. But unfortunately for the Yukigaoka, most of Kitagawa’s best combinations were still on the board.

Next, the final picks were lined up on the screen. There was a muffled scream from the crowd as they were shown. Compared to Kagayama’s team, the Yukigaoka’s lineup was pretty odd. And if they were actually a good team, Kagayama would be a little on edge. But an inexperienced team couldn’t do much with a lineup like that.  
Then Kagayama’s team had one more quick talk before the game started.

“Let’s just try to end this as soon as possible” Kagayama demanded. “We need to get a combination attack as early as possible”.

He explained that his fire archer and his Kindaichi’s fire mage would merge in power and take down as many towers down as possible to end the game. They settled down in their seats and put on their headsets. Kageyama closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath in. _Destroy all five towers, win the game_ he thought to himself. It was a simple line, but it kept him focused. Kageyama had to keep his mind fixed on winning, no matter who the opponent was.

The timer on their screen finally reached zero and the teams were off. They started with a basic formation, with Kindaichi and Kageyama mining for xp, attacking the npc grunts around. Everything was going as planned. The other team hadn’t even come close to one of their towers but Kitagawa Daiichi was already destroying their first.  
And just a few more minutes in, Kageyama was already feeling close to getting their combination ready. He quickly looked over at the progress of his other team members. _They’re way too slow_  Kagayama thought. But they were still winning and it was only the first round, so Kageyama kept it to himself.

“Are we ready?” Kageyama said through his headset.

Kindaichi hesitated for a moment then said “Yeah, I’m ready”

Getting his fingers ready to direct the attack, Kageyama was suddenly was distracted by an event across the screen.

“They’re doing a combination” one of his teammates said.

Kageyama eyes widened in surprise as he yelled. “Which warriors”

Hearing only fractions of excuses and ‘i thinks’ Kageyama yelled again “Which warriors!”

“It was Oourun and Arob” Kindaichi finally cleared up.

 _A ghost and water nature?_ Kageyama thought. It was almost laughable what little compatibility the two characters had. This would last for a few seconds, max. There was no way anyone had a fast enough of reaction time to keep the commands up.

But in that couple of second, something happened that he had only seen once in a official competition game.

A powerful energy blast came from the monster and it flew by two towers destroying both.

A muffled yell came from the crowd as it happened. Kageyama looked across the box to see Yukigaoka celebrating.

Kageyama was frozen in awe at what this no-name team was able to do. It must have been some sort of accident. But as the captain, Kageyama needed to get his team back on track.

“Everyone, back in formation!” he yelled. “Kindaichi, start the combination!” Kageyama calculated they’d have a little under two minutes to destroy at least three more towers. And afterwards, they would finish the last one.

The two warriors combined in a fiery swirl and the plan was on its way. It ended up working better than expected and now with four towers down, the matched ended soon after.

When the final tower fell, Kitagawa Daiichi had won the game in just over thirty minutes when an average game took at least an hour. Congratulations sounded in Kageyama’s headset and their team got up to shake hands with the other team.

As expected, Yukigaoka looked defeated even though they tried to hide the disappointment in their faces. Kageyama thanked the heavens that he hadn’t underestimated Yukigaoka or else Kageyama’s team could have been knocked out in the first round.

Kitagawa Daiichi gathered their things and left for home. Kageyama put his headphones back in and started to think over strategies for tomorrows game but overheard a loud noise. So he took out one ear bud and turned around.

 _This kid again_ Kageyama thought. He really had enough of the color orange.

“If you’re really the King of the Keep then” he bared his teeth before continuing. “Then I’ll overthrow you” Tears were coming from his eyes now.

“If you want to win, then try growing stronger” Kageyama turned around with his lips pressed together. Kageyama wasn’t sure if the kid had an actual strategy up there or if it was just by accident. But it didn’t matter much. Kageyama’s team won and they lost. That’s what mattered.

* * *

 

They were down two to four towers and it wasn’t looking good for Kitagawa Daiichi. Kageyama bit down hard on his lip almost drawing blood. Everything that he worked for was slipping away right in front of him.

“For the last time, stop doing whatever and follow what I say!”. Kageyama’s hands were shaking as he yelled. “Kindaichi, why isn’t the combination ready yet!”. He was ready to just punch everything. Why wasn’t anyone doing what he said. _Why is everyone so slow_ Kageyama thought. _This is why we’re losing._

“Hurry up get over here!” Kageyama demanded. He looked up and saw the rest of the team just sitting back, not even touching their keyboards, and some of them even started taking off their headsets. Kageyama suddenly felt empty inside. They had stop listening to Kageyama’s direction. This had never happened before. Sometimes his teammates would groan or mumble from a command, but had never outright denied Kageyama like this.

Kitagawa’s coach called for a time out Kageyama just unloaded on his team. He didn’t understand what was wrong. They had a chance but rest of them just didn’t believe. It was just so -

“Kageyama” His coach said interrupting. “I think it’s best you sit on the bench”

That was when Kageyama felt his very soul crumble. Kageyama knew that benching him meant the game was over. Why did this have to happen now.

Kageyama crossed his arms and put his head down. He couldn’t even make any clear thoughts now. His mind was all jumbled with anger and profanities. Kageyama was a failure.

His body jerked forward and Kageyama found himself staring at his bedroom ceiling panting and covered in sweat. _Was it just a dream?_ he thought. It took another second for him realize that all of it had really happened. It had been a few weeks, but Kageyama still found himself having the nightmare over and over. When his team rejected him.  
Kageyama sat up and looked at the clock. It was about ready for him to get ready for his first day of high school anyway. So he took a shower and got dressed, praying that this time would be better than the last.


	2. This Time, It's Different

Kageyama wandered over to the room marked Karasuno CK Team. It was a little shabby looking, but Kageyama wasn’t expecting too much, seeing as their team hadn’t really been in the spotlight for years.

He turned the doorknob, going over what he’d say to his future teammates in his head. Kageyama needed to make a good first impression. But when he entered the room, it was empty. _I guess I’m a little too early_ Kageyama thought. He had rushed here after class in anticipation.

Kageyama decided to look over the type of equipment they’d be playing on. The models looked a little old, but still in good condition.

Then he heard the swing of a door and tried to quickly straighten himself up only to be met with a face he’d never thought he’d see again. The orange haired kid from the tournament. Kageyama desperately tried to remember his name but came up with nothing.

The kid swallowed and said “Kageyama Tobio”

Kageyama really tried to dig in his memory but still came up with nothing. So much for making a good impression.

“I don’t know your name” he finally admitted.

The kid looked physically shocked before saying “My name’s Hinata Shouyou. We played against you last year but you probably don’t remember me”

“I definitely remember you” Kageyama said trying to make it very clear. That freak combination wasn’t something easily forgotten. Especially paired with the terrible playing formations.

“Why are you being so quiet?” Hinata was fidgeting. “Are you trying to pick a fight?”

Kageyama narrowed his eyes and said ”You might be the worst CK player I’ve ever seen”

“Don’t look down on me” Hinata said quietly. “It’s true I wasn’t good back then but” Hinata straighten out his back and looked forward. “Next time I won’t lose!” he yelled.

_So annoying_ Kageyama thought.

Hinata’s face relaxed before he continued. “Wait, why are you going to Karasuno in the first place?” He questioned. “Shouldn’t you be attending one of those first string school or something?”

Today just wasn’t Kageyama’s day.

“I didn’t get in” his said practically at a whisper. It was really humiliating to have to say it aloud. Espcially to a total amture.

“You didn’t get in? But I thought you were the King of the Keep?”

Just hearing the word ‘King’ brought Kageyama back to his nightmares. Everything that he feared was being thrown back at his face again.

“Don’t call me that” Kagayama growled.

Hinata shrinked back in fear.

“Hey, the captain from Kitagawa Daiichi is actually here” a voice said from the open door. Three figures walked in. Two of the guys had a pleasant looks on their faces but the third looked like she was ready to beat someone up.

“Hey” one of the guys said. He had short dark hair and introduced himself as the captain, Sawamura Daichi. The second guy was the vice-captain, Sugawara Koushi.

“ Just Suga’s is fine” he explained with a smile. That was when Kagayama noticed the small mole under his left eye. Kagayama caught himself before letting himself think out the words ‘that’s cute’.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke was the girl’s name who was still trying to intimate them. “Suga-san you need to make a tougher impression than that” she explained.

“H-hi there” Hinata stuttered.

“Oh, you’re from that freak combination game!” Tanaka said pointing at Hinata. Daichi and Suga also made an ‘oh’ face.

“We watched your game last year” Suga explained.

“Your plays were pretty clumsy but you’ve got a lot of guts” Tanaka said putting her hand on her hips.

“I want to show you that I can become Karasuno’s Ace” Hinata announced in confidence.

_Just who did Hinata think he was?_ Kageyama scowled at Hinata’s proclamation. He was trying his best to keep his elitist attitude to himself but Hinata was making that pretty much impossible.

“Shouldn’t you be trying to improve yourself before making such cocky statements” Kageyama suggested.

Hinata turned to face Kageyama glaring at him.

“If you don’t, you’ll just end up wasting another three years” he told Hinata who was clenching his teeth. The more anger Hinata showed, the more it proved to Kageyama how naive Hinata really was.

“You, “ Hinata said under his breath.

“Hey” Daichi interrupted. “You both are on the same team now and cooperation is what’s most important”

“Let’s have a one-on-one match right now” Hinata challenged Kageyama, ignoring Daichi.

Kageyama sighed. He wasn’t really interested in having to play with someone who was obviously so awful at CK.

“I’m not the same as I was last year” Hinata claimed.

Kageyama smiled. _Not the same as last year_ he repeated in his head.

“Well, neither am I”. Kageyama thought he might have heard the upperclassmen say something but it couldn’t have been that important. They took seats next to each other and Kageyama reached out to grab a headset and felt a tug from Hinata pulling it from the other side.

“Just take the one next to you!” Kageyama demanded, not letting go.

“You take the one next to you!” Hinata yelled back.

“This is the one next to me asshole!”

Before Hinata could say anything else, a snap echoed through the room. And now Kageyama was holding one side of the broken headset with the other side in Hinata hand. Everyone waited for someone to say something. And it was Hinata’s yelling that broke the silence.

“T-this is all your fault!” Hinata pointed at Kageyama.

“What are you talking about! You should have just let go shithead!” Kageyama shouted at Hinata.

“Hey!” A harsh voice said coming from Daichi. “I need you two to listen me”. His arms were crossed but Daichi had a calm and composed face.

“I’m not sure of your reason for coming to Karasuno, but I’m assuming you want to win”

“Yeah”

“Of course”

They both said.

“Up until a few years ago, Karasuno was the top school for CK in the region and even made it to nationals once. But now weren’t not considered strong a or particular weak team either” Daichi explained. “But this year, we’re going to nationals again” Daichi stated.

It was bold but words didn’t mean much if there weren’t any actions behind it.

“But there are tons of teams who have the same dream of being at nationals” Kageyama said.

Daichi nodded. “Don’t worry” he said. “We’re completely serious”. Kageyama could feel Daichi’s attitude getting colder.

“You don’t need to be friends, but until you two can view each other as teammates” Dachi gave and terrifying expression that made him jump back.

“This team doesn’t need you” Daichi finished, escorting them out of the room.

Kageyama felt like his mind was on pause. This had to be some sort of joke.

“W-wait! Please let us in” Hinata begged. “Me and Kageyama made up, right?” Hinata continued to blubber on, making a fool of himself. Kageyama pushed Hinata aside and talked through the closed door.

“I’ll get along with Hinata” Kageyama couldn’t mess this up. CK was the only thing he had. “Just please let me join the team”

The door opened up to Daichi’s unconvinced face and asked “What are you actually thinking”

Kageyama felt a shiver go up his spine. He really wanted to lie but couldn’t think of the words before the truth just spilt out.

“If I have to play with Hinata, I’d rather just do everything myself than work with him” Kageyama’s voice trailed off as he spoke.

Kageyama looked back at Daichi who was laughing and smiling. “I didn’t think you’d actually tell the truth” he said. “But you can’t play without your teammates you know. How are you going to make a combination if you’re by yourself” He explained with a smile and promptly shut the door again.

Storming away, Kageyama quickly came up with a plan for getting on Karasuno’s CK team. Unfortunately, it involved Hinata, but it was worth it, probably.

“Wait, where are you going!” Hinata asked trailing behind Kageyama.

He looked back and said “Let’s challenge them to a two-on-two match on the terms that if we win, they’ll let us on the team”

Hinata made an ‘oh’ face. “But what if we lose?” he asked.

Kageyama made a quiet groan. “If you’re with me, we won’t” he stated. “Just don’t get in my way”

Hinata started pouting again “What, do you think I’m just going to go along with what you say!”

“Come on, we need to get ready” Kageyama said ignoring Hinata.

* * *

Standing at the door once again, Kageyama knocked a polite three times and waited for it to open.

Tanaka was the one who opened the door. “Ah, you guys are still here?” she said surprised. When the rest of the upperclassmen were stood at the door frame, Kageyama quickly and quietly said “Don’t mess this up”

“You don’t mess this up” Hinata pouted.

“Please have a match with us so we can show you we can work together as teammates!” they begged.

Tanaka burst out in laughter and Suga looked embarrassed for them.

Daichi, on the other hand, asked “What if you lose?”

“We’ll take any punishment you give us” Kageyama said confidently.

“Then Saturday, we’ll have a three-on-three match”. Daichi looked over at Tanaka. “You can join them and we’ll have the other two first years play against them”

_There are other first years?_ Kageyama thought while Tanaka complained.

They thanked the upperclassman and started to walk away.

“Hey, practice is at seven tomorrow right?” Tanaka said looking behind her shoulder directly at Kageyama and Hinata.

“...Yeah” Suga said sounding a little suspicious. “Like it always is”.

Kageyama and Hinata made eye contact with each other and it was like they knew exactly they were thinking.

“Tomorrow at five then” Kagayama said. “Don’t be late”

“You don’t be late”  they said to each other before heading home.

* * *

The two of them arrived at a locked door unsure of how they’d even get to practice. Kageyama thought for a moment and said. “We need to break in somehow”.

“But what if we get caught” Hinata whined.

Behind them, they heard footsteps getting closer. Hoping it wasn’t one of the teacher, Kageyama was relieved to see Tanaka yawning behind them.

“Five is just way too early” she said as she shuffled to the door. “We gotta be finished by seven” she said pulling out a key.

“Tanaka-san!” Hinata cheered.

The three of them headed up to the club room at sat down in front of the monitors. Kageyama breathed out to keep his excitement in. Sure he could play CK at home, but it just wasn’t the same being in the same room as other players. Hearing the clicking of keyboards fill the room relaxed him, but Hinata and his nonsense noises broke his concentration.

“We need to go over basic formations” Kageyama demanded.

Hinata frowned and definitely didn’t look like he was in the mood for that.

“Can we just practice combinations first”

Kageyama could feel his eyebrow twitch.

“There’s no way we’re going to win if you don’t even know the basics”

“I do know the basics, it’s just freaking boring” Hinata mumbled.

“I need to tell you something” Tanaka said before Kageyama could start yelling again. “I could get in big trouble if Daichi found about this practice, so can we just keep this a secret” she asked.

“Hey guys, how’s practice going” Suga walked in the room with a smile on his face. Tanaka looked kind of nervous. “It’s fine, I won’t tell Daichi”

The three of them sighed in relief.

Getting back to practice, Kageyama was getting ready to kill Hinata. Nothing was sticking in his mind and he kept breaking formation.

“Stop running around when you’re suppose to go straight!” he yelled. Everything just seemed pointless.

“Ugh” Hinata groaned leaning back in the chair. “Can we just practice combinations now”

Kageyama felt a twitch again. They had been practicing for over an hour and nothing got done. He had to think of something, even if he had to drag Hinata through it.  

“If you can get through this formation, we’ll practice them, alright” Kageyama bargained.

Hinata’s face lit up at his words.

“Really?”

Kageyama felt his heart speed up. _What’s wrong with me_ he thought.

At the very least, Hinata was working harder. But unfortunately, it didn’t last very long and it took another three days of practice before Hinata was able to finally get it down.

“Combination” Kageyama said under his breath. He wanted to do but at the same time, he didn’t want to give such a thick headed person like Hinata what he wanted.

“Can we really do it?”

Kageyama could hear the smile in his voice but refuse to look directly at Hinata, on the off chance he’d feel that weird heartbeat thing again.

“Yeah, but we have to change characters first”. Kageyama was currently using Petira, and Hinata, Bellflower. A water-psychic combination would be almost pointless.

“Why can’t we just use these ones?” Hinata asked.

“Do I really have to explain-” Kageyama caught himself. Of course he had to explain it to him. “Because they’re not even compatible. The amount of commands per second you’d need to pull the attack off would be absurd.”

“I can get it to attack” Hinata boldly stated. It brought back memories of their match. And it made Kagayama wonder how often Hinata played with these oddball combinations.

“How do you plan doing that?” Kageyama simply asked.

Hinata leaned his hand on his cheek and shrugged. “I just push the keys and it works”.

Kageyama was about this close to punching him. _Just pushing keys? Only baby level novices just pushed keys._

“There’s no way in hell I’m subjecting myself to that”

“Can’t you just give me a chance!” Hinata begged. “I swear I’ll get an attack in. Please!” Hinata went on and on about how capable he was at this until Kageyama was forced to give him a deal.

“We can try your pointless combination but if you can’t land an attack, were only doing my combination until graduation”

Hinata jumped back in his chair before answering “Fine” under his breath.

Kageyama shifted his focus over to Hinata who was crouched in his seat, concentrated hard on the screen. He looked the position of Hinata’s hands that just seemed to be all over the place. He really was a novice.

“Almost there” Hinata face was only getting closer to the screen.

Kageyama went back to the game just in time. “Okay now” Kageyama directed.

As the keys directed the attack, Kageyama was barely keeping up. He wanted to look over at Hinata’s progress but all of his attention was being taken up. But some how in the mess of clacking keys, the attack flew across the screen with no problems, knocking two towers over and a dent in a third. Kageyama’s mind was racing a mile a minute with strategies and future types of attacks. _If only he understood the basics_ Kageyama thought.

“Yeah!” Hinata shouted. He was sporting a huge smile on his face that made Kageyama feel weird. It kind of reminded him of some emotion, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

* * *

Finishing the last practice before tomorrows deciding match, Kagayama was feeling pretty confident. Hinata still wasn’t the best, but he was finally getting the hang of things.

As the two left the club room, two unfamiliar faces walked past them in the hallway. One was really tall with glasses. The other had dark messy hair and a face full of freckles.

“Oh, you guys must be the first years who caused trouble” glasses smirked. _Those two must be our opponents for tomorrow_ Kageyama thought.

“Who are you guys” Hinata asked.

“They’re the other first years we’ll be against” explained Kageyama.

“We’re definitely going to beat you guys” Hinata said with his usual confidence.

“Well, Yamaguchi and I don’t really care much about the match” glasses talked. “So we could just throw the game for you”

Kageyama clenched his fists. The one thing he hated most was being looked down upon.

“Throw the match or not, I’m still going to win” Kageyama responded.

Glasses laughed a little. “You’re Kageyama Tobio from Kitagawa Daiichi right? The King of the Keep”.

If it wasn’t obvious now, he was just pushing Kageyama’s buttons on purpose.

“Don’t call me that” he said.

Glasses laughed again. “It’s true then, that you hate being called by that nickname” He looked over a freckles and back at Kageyama. “I saw the finals, it’s no wonder they stopped following such a control freak”.

And that was it for Kageyama. He grabbed the guy’s collar and seriously considered punching him. The only thing that kept him from doing it was that Kageyama would definitely be kicked of the team for a scandal like that. So he let go and walked away.

“We’re done here”

“Tomorrow we’ll win against your highness and - “

“I’m here too!” Hinata shouted. “And I’m going to destroy you in tomorrow’s match!”

“Huh” he threatened.  

Hinata jumped back and mumbled in surprise.

Glasses gave a creepy smile and said “It’s all just a game anyway right? Why are we being so serious?”

“What do you mean just a game!?” Hinata yelled back.

“It means exactly what you think it means” Glasses smirked. “Well, see you tomorrow”

“Wait, who are you guys?” Hinata pointed at them.

“Tsukishima Kei”

“And I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi” they said walking away.

“I can’t wait to experience the king’s playing style in person” Tsukishima said.

Kageyama started practically running in the opposite direction, trying not to completely flip out again.

“What a piece of trash, tomorrow we’ll show them!” Hinata was a little out of breath as he tried to keep up.

“Stop talking!” Kageyama snapped.

In Hinata’s own way, he was trying to make Kageyama feel better but right now, he just needed silence.

“Ugh, why do you have such a bad personality too”

“Shut up” Kageyama said back as he headed home. Kageyama would never let himself lose to a person like that.

* * *

Saturday morning, Kageyama walked in the club room with a calm mind. Well, at least more than before. And unfortunately, Hinata’s chatting wasn’t helping.

“Hey guys” Suga said with a smile and a wave.

Kageyama waved back. He really needed to practice pushing down his feelings.

“Alright, so I’m going to join Tsukishima and Yamaguchi” Dachi explained starting the match.

“B-but you’re the captain!” Hinata complain.

Daichi laughed and said. “Tanaka’s got a much better reaction time than me, so don’t worry too much”.

Hinata was still looking distressed but sat down.

“Who should we crush first, shorty or Tanaka-san” Tsukishima directed his talk to Yamaguchi but it was very obviously suppose to be overheard by them too. “Or better yet, it’d be great to see the King loose”

_Stay calm, stay calm_.

“Hey” Tanaka said sweetly. “Did you hear Tsukishima-kun?” It was pretty creepy actually. But almost on cue, she gave a terrifying grin. “We’ll wreck yah!”

Kageyama wasn’t sure if was a good or bad thing that the two of them were so pumped up now.

But they started the game, and everything seemed to be going better than expected. Kageyama was playing with a ghost character and after a bit of convincing (more like yelling), Hinata a psychic which were complementary to each other but not fully compatible.  

Hinata was stumbling a little but was showing a lot of improvement from they started practicing. But it was no where at a level that Kageyama wanted to play with him. It just sucked that Hinata had such a fast reaction time. And Tanaka and his fire demon were doing well, as predicted by Dachi.

Then, the ice attack by Tsukishima destroyed the first tower of the game. Kageyama felt his his chest tighten as he heard them cheering quietly from across the room. It made him feel like that they actually might not win. Even Hinata was frozen for movement. Kageyama needed to get back control of the game.

“Hinata, why didn't you stop Tsukishima” he questioned.

“Because I was doing the first thing you told me to do!” Hinata said referring to the xp mining.

“You were the closest to the tower!”

“But I can’t pay attention to everything all at once!”

“Stop acting like I asked you to do a million things when it was just one more!”

“Hey Daichi, can we pause for a moment?” Suga asked with a soft voice. Dachi nodded across the room.

“Kageyama” Suga’s stare made Kageyama’s heart jump. “You’re acting the same way you did in middle school”. But in embarrassment, put his hand on the back of his head. “I mean...Hinata’s best asset is his reaction time but your complicated strategies are diminishing it” Suga leaned forward in his chair. “Hinata doesn’t have much experience or abilities but combined with your skill and his raw talent I think it’d work really well” he smiled. “Your sense and control of the game and better yet, being able to calmly see through your opponents movements” Suga’s smile diminished a little. “Are all things I lack” Suga looked up again. “And with that observation, there’s no way you can’t see your teammates”

Kageyama thought for a moment and looked over at Hinata. _Somehow making him better._

“I’m jealous of your reaction time” he stated “but I hate people like you who waste it”

“Haah?”

“Since it’s like that, I’ll show off your ability and I’ll get that combination to you”

“What do you mean by that?” Hinata leaned his head to the side.

“Just make your first priority the combination and I’ll do the rest”

“But won’t you get angry if I miss something?”

Kageyama sighed. “Tanaka-san and I can take care of it right?”

“Hell yeah” she grinned.

Hinata nodded. “Got it”

The game started up again so Kageyama and Tanaka successfully defended the towers while keeping them off of Hinata as he followed the new plan. Kageyama checked the progress and Hinata seemed pretty close to ready.

“Kageyama” Hinata said.

“Gotcha, I’m heading your way” Kageyama understood instantly.

From there, Kageyama left Hinata to what he did best and lead the attack into the enemy towers.

“Alright” Kageyama and Hinata said together.

It was a little weaker than Kageyama wanted it to be and only managed to get the two Tanaka and him had been attacking already. But they were one ahead so Kageyama dealt.

The rest of the game was really back and forth between destroying towers. Soon the score was four to three thanks to Tanaka’s and Hinata’s makeshift attack formation.

“Hey Tsukishima!” she shouted across the room. “How’s that punk! You said you were going to destroy me and Hinata but look at us now!”

“That’s right! That’s right!” Hinata said piggybacking Tanaka’s insults.

“Enough with the attitude!” Suga scolded.

Kageyama laughed quietly. _This is fun_ he thought to himself. _Really fun!_

The game ended close with the three of them winning five to four.

Hinata smiled big and turned to Kageyama. “We won”.

_Shit. He’s really cute right now_ Kageyama thought as he tried to hide any sort of expression from his face.

Hinata fiddled with his keyboard still smiling. And Kageyama heart was beating faster and faster.

“When I was in middle school, all I ever wanted was to keep playing. And now I feel like that’s actually happening”

Kageyama tried to think of the words to say to Hinata but nothing came to mind. Probably because he was trying so hard to push down the idea that he might (more like most likely) have a small crush on Hinata.

“That’s fine or whatever” Kageyama directed his eye contact somewhere else. He had a lot of things to think about.

By the end of the practice, Hinata attempted to shake Tsukishima hand in good sportsmanship and only succeeded after forcing him into to it. Tsukishima make a face like he went through a traumatic experience and it made Kageyama laugh a little.

Plus, they were finally accepted into the club.

Standing in front of them, Dachi said. “From now on, let’s do our best Karasuno CK Club”

Kageyama and Hinata looked at each other for a moment, seeing the excitement in each other’s eye.

“Osu!”

Walking out of the room, Kageyama was thinking of new practice strategies.

“Hinata, you have a decent PC right?”

“Yeah? Why?”

Kageyama kind of wanted to punch him when he asked questions like that. Whatever romantic feelings Kageyama thought he had must have been a fluke.

“So we can work on CK strategies tonight” Kageyama preferred to practice in the same room but he didn’t want to hold the upperclassmen up more than what was necessary.

“Sounds good” Hinata said with another smile. For the few days Kageyama knew Hinata, this was the first time he’d seen him smile so much. But with a winning high after the possibility of not making the team, it made sense.

Kageyama was thinking about going by and picking up some food before heading home but noticed his wallet was missing.

_I must have left it back in the club room._

“I have to go back and get something but were starting at nine so don’t be late”

“You don’t be late” Hinata said back.

Kageyama rolled his eyes and walked back to the room. He opened the door and saw a glimpse of Suga and Dachi. Except that Suga was sitting on the desk with Dachi leaned against him. Actually, it was more like their faces were leaned against each others. Wait no, their lips. They were kissing. Suga and Dachi were kissing and Kageyama was just standing there like dork. But at this point they had broken away from each other.

“Oh my god!” Suga gasped looking straight at Kageyama.

“Sorry!” He shouted slamming the door shut. Kageyama’s heart was pounding. _I guess they’re going out or something_ he thought pacing down the hallway. He could just get his wallet tomorrow.

“Wait, Kageyama” Suga’s voice said behind him.

“Yep!” Kageyama turned around nervously.

“Could you not spread around what you saw”. Suga had a blush across his face. “Most of the club sort of kind of knows we’re dating but the rest of the school on the other hand”

“No, yep, I understand” Kageyama was trying to talk as natural as possible but it sounded like he was dying.

“Thanks” Suga said with a small grin and walked back to the room.

And Kageyama frantically put his headphones in and forced thoughts of CK and training plans in head. This was going to be an interesting year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm already working on a DaiSuga chapter that will hopefully be out soon! Thanks for reading and feel free to tell me what you think!  
> Also the formula of this series is going to be a kagehina chapter and one focusing on another pairing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I'm still a little iffy on continuing this series because it's kind of niche seeing as a lot of people probably aren't into this sort of au so it'd be awesome if you'd let me know if you'd like to see more of this story. Even if it's just one or two people, as long as someone's looking forward to it, I'll definitely keep writing it!
> 
> Either way, the second chapter is definitely coming out and I just have to proofread through it one more time so hopefully it will come out later today or tomorrow. And it's waaaaay more kagehina than this one, so just sit tight!


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